Visual Resources Glossary
Select a letter from the list below to view glossary terms and acronyms/abbreviations. The agency abbreviation following the definition indicates the definition source.
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
- Management activity
- A surface-disturbing or enhancement activity undertaken on the landscape for the purpose of harvesting, traversing, transporting, protecting, changing, replenishing, or otherwise using resources or improving landscape conditions. (BLM, USFS)
- Middle ground
- The zone that extends from 0.25–0.5 mile to 3–5 miles away from the viewer. (FHWA)
- Middle ground
- The visible area of a landscape in which viewers may feel more like they are looking “at the landscape” rather than being in it. (NPS)
- Middle ground
- The zone between the foreground and the background in a landscape. The area located from 1.5 mile to 4 miles from the observer. (USFS)
- Mitigation
- The avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction or elimination of impacts over time, or compensation for impacts. (NPS, BLM)
- Mitigation measure
- An action that avoids, minimizes, rectifies, reduces or eliminates an impact over time, or compensates for an impact. (BLM, NPS)
- Monitoring
- Periodic observation of construction, operation, and decommissioning activities to ensure proper mitigation measures or other resource protection protocols are being followed. Long-term monitoring observes the progress or quality of mitigation measures over a period of time. (NPS, BLM)